What to Consider When Buying a Laptop

Buying a laptop which meets all your requirements can be a daunting task. Choosing the best laptop for yourself needs a careful analysis of its potential uses. Therefore, one of the most important things that you should do before buying one is to do a bit of fact-finding. You should try to analyze the reason for which you are going to buy a laptop like

1. Are you going to use it for business or entertainment?
2. What would be the duration for which it would be used on a daily basis?
3. What is the maximum you are willing to spend on the laptop?

These are some of the questions you should ask yourself as without proper research, you can very easily buy a laptop which is not compatible with your style of usage. Mentioned below are some of the features which you should keep in mind when you set out to buy a laptop.

Form Factor
If you are going to use your laptop on the move, then netbooks and ultra-portables can be the ideal laptops for you. Both of these variants are lightweight and good for simple e-mailing and word processing. A word of caution though, the screen size in these compact laptops is generally around 10" to 12". As the priority is given to keep the weight and size in check, the keyboards are usually cramped. Thin and light laptops offer the perfect choice to users as these are compact enough to be carried along occasionally and have bigger screens along with a host of other features. If you have no plans of carry the laptop around, we would recommend choosing a bigger 14" or 16" screen.

Operating System
Most laptops are pre-loaded with Windows 7 or Windows Vista operating system. Windows operating system sells more than any other software, courtesy its impressive customization features and its compatibility with other computer games. Apart from Windows, the other operating systems which you can choose are Mac operating system and Linux, although the former is relatively expensive.

Battery Life
Battery life is something that most laptop users complain about. As most laptops offer high quality features, the battery drains out rather too frequently. Do check the battery life of the laptop, although most of the time the battery life is mentioned in the brochure is measured under 'test conditions'.

Processors
It is advisable to go with a laptop which offers the fastest processor speeds, even if it means spending a little extra. Some recommended processors are Intel Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 and Intel Centrino 2 with vPro technology. You can also choose processors from AMD as they have a wide range to choose from. While choosing the RAM, one of the most important things to remember is that it should have at least have a 1GB memory.

Ports
Ports are essential when it comes to transferring data from the laptops and connecting scanners and printers. Notebooks and ultra-portables should have at least two ports. If you want to connect a camcorder to your laptop, do check for the Firewire (IEEE 1394) port.

Apart from these features, you can also check if other features like Wi-Fi connectivity, CD/DVD writers, warranty, video cards, graphic cards etc. are offered to you at discounted prices. The competition is cut-throat so with a little bargaining, you may be able to get a good deal!

These were some features that you should look out for when choosing the best laptop for yourself. The information provided in this article is not exhaustive and there can be certain features which may not be that important for you. We also advice you get the quotations from various dealers and compare the prices before you decide to buy one. We hope that with the help of this article you would have got a fair idea on what to consider when buying a laptop.